Photographs
by gibbonsarenotmonkeys
Summary: Before they were legendary heroes, the first Storm Hawks were a rag-tag bunch of kids, making up for their lack of experience with an abundance of attitude and nerve. This is their story; how they came to be, how they became the best, and how they fell.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, nor am I making any profit from writing this. Unfortunately.

**Photographs**

By Racxiam

"MAY DAY!! I'M GOING DOWN! AAAIIIIIEEEE!!" Piper rolled her eyes and tapped Finn on the shoulder with a slight smirk.

"Uh, Finn? You're hurting my ears." Warily, Finn opened first one eye, then the other, to discover he was perched rather precariously(not to mention painfully, now that his mind was registering things other than impending death), on the front of her heliscooter. He turned his head slowly, a nervous smile in place on his face.

"Thanks, Piper. I owe you one." Piper snorted at this, and dodged under a Talon on a kamikaze run.

"You mean you owe me about twenty...but, I'll tell you what. Shoot him out of the sky, and we'll call it even." She pointed to the pesky Talon, turning around for a second run, and Finn's smile grew with confidence. Staying on his ride might not be a specialty of his, but shooting things was a whole other story. Notching his crossbow, he took aim, and-

"Not this time, Storm Hawks!" On the other side of the patch of sky they were using as a battleground today, the Dark Ace swung his crystal blade at Aerrow's head, missing by a fraction of an inch when the boy ducked. A heated flurry of blows followed, so furious that anyone watching would have trouble telling who exactly was winning. A few seconds later, Aerrow was knocked back, and leaped back onto his own ride as Radarr brought it near enough. Dark Ace hardly had time to smirk at his victory when one of his own Talons slammed into his ride with full force, having been smacked there by a hit from Junko's knuckle-buster, throwing the Dark Ace from his seat.

"What was that you were saying? Sorry, I couldn't hear you over the screams of anguish and defeat coming from your guys." Aerrow called to the Dark Ace, whose smirk had been replaced by a scowl as he and his men headed out for a retreat.

"Next time, you won't be so lucky, punk!" Aerrow could only smirk as the Talons retreated into the clouds, and the Storm Hawks headed back to the Condor for some R&R.

* * *

"Finn, we can't afford to keep buying you a new ride after every battle! I mean, four airskimmers in a week? It's a bit much." Piper complained. "Not to mention the crystal fuel we lose every time a freshly-fueled ride goes down..."

"Aw, come on, Piper, we usually get back most of the pieces from the wastelands before they get eaten by magma creatures. And I can't help it, the Cyclonians just love tearing my ride to pieces!" He defended himself fruitlessly, leaning back against the round table in the center of the bridge with a yawn. "Honestly, I think it must be because they're intimidated by my rogue-ish good looks and overall aura of manliness."

Aerrow snorted, entering the bridge carrying a large box, postmarked with about a hundred different terras. "Yeah, that must be it." He nudged Finn out of the way so he could put down the box on the table, stepping back as everyone gathered around to examine it. "Just picked this up from the post office on Terra Nord. Apparently...it's been lost for a while." He gestured to the stamps from dozens of post offices all around Atmos...they were lucky they got it at all.

"Don't open it! Classic Murk Raider trick. They send you a box years before they intend to attack, and then, when you open it at long last, a pack of starving Scandallions jump forth to clean the flesh from your bones!" Stork warned them, earning himself several raised eyebrows.

"And what exactly is a Scandallion, Stork?" Finn was the one to ask.

"They're like clams, only with teeth!" He warned, a look of horror on his face. "No one's ever survived a Scandallion attack."

"Ri-ight. Well, according to the label, it's from someone named Meryl." Piper said, reading the label in question. Both Aerrow and Finn started, and Radarr leapt to his feet from where he'd been snoozing in a corner, dashing across the room and prying at the lid of the box. "And it's addressed to Aerrow." She added. Radarr looked wounded and plopped down onto the table, pouting.

"Just Aerrow? Why would she send something to you and not me?" Finn asked, also looking disappointed.

"I dunno...I don't know why she'd send me anything at all. She said that if I went on to become a Sky Knight, I shouldn't bother trying to contact her again." He looked confused, and made no move to open the box.

"Uh, guys, not to interrupt your moment or anything, but who is Meryl?" Junko asked, looking between the three of them curiously.

"Oh...Meryl ran the orphanage that Radarr and I grew up in, and where Finn came after Terra Lyn was taken by Cyclonia." Aerrow explained, since three among them had never met the woman who was the closest thing Aerrow had to a mother. "She was so mad at us when we said we wanted to be Sky Knights..."

"Well, open it up! I want to see what Meryl sent!" Finn said impatiently, and with a shrug, Aerrow pried the lid up.

* * *

_"Yeah, I got you, bulls eye!" A squeaky voice called, before a little girl popped up out of the bushes, wielding a toy crossbow and giggling at the spikey-headed boy who was sporting a rubber-headed arrow on his forehead. He pulled it off with a disgruntled look, and raised his toy sword._

_"Oh yeah, well, now I'm gonna get you!" With a shriek of childish joy, the little girl took off like a shot, the boy in hot pursuit. _

_"No fair, no fair! I got you, you're dead now!" They vanished into the bushes, and while they were gone, another boy, this one with bright red hair, appeared in the clearing, also holding a toy sword, looking around curiously as though wondering where they'd gone._

_"Come back here!" The boy's voice was heard again, before the little girl raced back into the clearing, spotted the red-haired boy, and ducked behind him for safety, clinging to the sleeve of his shirt. A moment later, the spikey-haired boy followed, pausing as he saw her stick her tongue out at him from behind the other boy.  
_

_A slow smile spread across each of the boy's faces, the spikey-haired boy getting ready to attack and the red-haired boy dropping into a protective stance in front of the girl, each one shooting the other a look reserved for the other alone, a look of friendship and rivalry blended into one._

_As though on some hidden cue, the to boys charged at each other, the girl watching from the sidelines, but before they even reached one another, a fourth figure stepped into the picture, a woman with white-blonde hair done up in a bun, and caught each of the boys by an arm, giving them a stern look._

_"What have I told you two about fighting?" She asked sternly, dragging the two boys off. "I think it's about time you two had some kitchen duty." The boys groaned in unison, and the woman paused for a minute. "Alaria, I'm willing to bet you were in on this too. Come on, and bring that silly camera with you."_

The last thing the crystal recording showed was a close up shot of the little girl's over-sized, green eyes, before the picture cut out, and the Storm Hawks were sitting around the table in silence.

"That was Meryl...at the end there, but..." Aerrow started, trying to piece together the box of crystal recordings and photographs that Meryl had sent him.

"But she was way younger! Meryl's like a hundred years old, and there, she looked...well, not a hundred!" Aerrow rolled his eyes, but shrugged in agreement.

"Then, you guys don't even know who those kids were?" Piper asked, looking from one to another of her teammates. Aerrow and Finn both shook their heads.

"I didn't recognize them, and besides, that recording has to be even older than we are." Aerrow stated, and started sifting through the photos again. "But...they look similar to the people in these photos...woah..." He stopped, holding up one photo to the light for a better look. Everyone gathered around. Piper gasped.

"Is that-" Junko started, and Stork finished,

"The original Storm Hawks."

The photo was old, and the people in it didn't appear any older than they were now. In the background, the Condor, looking fresh and shiny and new, gleamed in the morning sunlight, while the people in front of it smiled for the camera.

There were six of them, just as there were six Storm Hawks now. The first one from the right was a Blizzarian girl with blue fur, proudly holding up an armband emblazoned with the Storm Hawks crest. Next to her, a burly man with short brown hair and bright blue eyes wielded a wrench over his shoulder. On his other side, a tiny girl with long, black hair and bright green eyes pointed an unloaded crossbow at the camera, grinning wickedly, standing next to a tall, wiry youth with flaming red hair, arms folded over his chest and smirking at the camera, a weapon similar to the one Aerrow used strapped to his hip. On the far left, a Raptor smiled toothily, looking threatening, his Storm Hawks crest emblazoned over the left corner of his chest. In between the red head and the Raptor was the final member of the squad; a thin, reedy youth, his black hair was slicked back so that it stuck up in the back, his dark eyes glinting as he smiled ever-so-innocently into the camera, one arm slung around the shoulders of the red head in a gesture of joviality. It was the Dark Ace.

On the back, in untidy handwriting, names were written

_From right: Kandys, Barrel, Alaria, Rhys, Ace, Rawley_

_The Storm Hawks _

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**A/N: Is that a good way to end the chapter? If it is, review and let me know. If not, review and yell at me for it. I was having serious issues with it. Let me know what you think, precious readers!  
**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Storm Hawks, nor am I making any profit from writing this. Unfortunately.**

**Chapter 2**

_"Smile pretty, Rhys!" The jovial voice of a teenage girl rang out, and Rhys looked back over his shoulder and quirked an eyebrow at her._

_"Do you have to bring that thing everywhere? We want to look professional, 'Laria."_

_"But this is an important, historic event! We need to document it!" She chirped in reply, and swung the camera around, towards the sky, where dark clouds were amassing, lightning leaping from cloud to cloud, getting ready to pour buckets of icy rain down on their heads. "Hey, look, it's an eagle! How about that, we could be the Eagles!" The camera abruptly swiveled back towards Rhys, who had turned to look at the sky._

_"Except that there's already the Red Eagles, or did you forget, again? Not to mention that's a hawk." He pointed at the bird, laughing. Alaria snorted from behind the camera._

_"Well, that's not bad." A deep rumble of a voice, almost a growl, and the camera turned again, and from the bumpy camera work, it seemed Alaria was walking backwards as she filmed. "Hawks ain't taken."_

_"He's right, but do we really want to be named after such a stupid bird...I mean, look at it, it's flying around when there's about to be a storm." Tall blue ears, followed by a furry face, popped up, seemingly out of nowhere, next to the Raptor that was the focal point of the shot, also looking up at the bird doubtfully._

_"Kinda suits certain members of our squad, if you ask me."Alaria muttered, and the camera focused in on their red-haired leader once again, and the boy walking nextto him, who turned back to make a rude gesture into the camera. "Well it's true! You guys WOULD fly into a storm, just for the thrill of it, and maybe so that you could brag that you did it." Rhys looked back at her, and shrugged._

_"Maybe that's why it's perfect. We're the reckless ones, the ones who'll take any mission, no matter how crazy it is. The ones who'll do whatever it takes to keep Atmos safe, to defend the skies. We're the Storm Hawks." A murmur of approval went around the small circle of friends, followed by a lot of cheering and whoops of joy. All too soon, they came into view of the Council building, where they'd be approved as a Sky knight Squadron. "Here we go...put that thing away, 'Laria. Everybody, stand up straight, we want to look our best."_

_"What are you, my mother?" There was just time to see Ace roll his eyes before the recording went dark._

"It's amazing! I mean, who would've thought that the old Storm Hawks were the same age as us when they started out? You notice how this wasn't included in any of the history books, or the historical data that I managed to-"

"Yeah, Piper, we get it. It's awesome. I still don't get why Meryl sent it to you and not to me. I'm a Storm Hawk too." Finn pouted, and Aerrow shrugged.

"She probably meant it for all of us, but it was easier to just address it to me. What I wonder is why she didn't show this to us before, when we decided we were going to do this. Why send it now?"

"She was against us becoming the Storm Hawks at all. She probably thought it would only encourage us." Finn answered him.

"But then why send it now? What changed her mind?" Junko looked between the two of them for an answer that no one seemed to have.

"She was really mad when we found the Condor and decided to do this...do you remember, Finn?"

"Hell, yeah. She gave us triple-chore duty for a month."

_"Aerrow! I think I see something over there!" A preteen Finn poked his head over a ridge of rocks, and checking to make sure Meryl wasn't in sight, his red-headed compadre raced over to see what he had found._

_"Radarr, signal if you see anything." He whispered to his furry companion, who saluted and ducked behind a shrubbery for cover as he watched for any interlopers. "What is it?"_

_"I don't know, but it kind of looks like a part of a ship." Finn handed over his binoculars so Aerrow could get a closer look at where he was pointing. They'd climbed to a level that was just above the wastelands, and the metal piece Finn had indicated was just barely poking out of the clouds. "If it's any good, maybe we can salavge it for the skimmer. At the very least we'll be able to sell it for scrap." The skimmer Finn spoke of was actually a conglomeration of parts they'd managed to scrape together into some semblance of a working ride, which they took turns riding. They'd been able to find a lot of scrap parts around this area to augment the meager allowance Meryl gave them, but for some reason, she had forbidden them to come here anymore. They still did, of course, they just had to be sneakier about it. "I'm just not sure how we're going to get to it."_

_"I have an idea." He pulled out the makeshift rope he and Radarr had put together out of rags and pillowcases. "You have your crossbow?" It was one of the few things Finn had when he came to the orphanage, a remnant of Terra Lyn, before the Cyclonians took it, and Finn rarely went without it. When Finn held it out, Aerrow tied one end of the rope to one of the bolts, and attached the other end to a sturdy-looking root._

_"Uh...are you sure this is a good idea? There's nothing but wastelands down there, and that rope's a little...ummm..." Aerrow dismissed his concerns with a wave of his hand. "What if there's nothing to stand on once you get there, man?"  
_

_"It'll be fine, don't worry. Just make sure you get me close to it, something has to be holding that hunk of metal up." He assured him, and with a wary shrug, Finn took aim and sent a bolt whistling through the air, embedding itself in the rock face just above the metal._

"Hang on, hold up, stop **right there**." Piper held up her hands, looking from Finn to Aerrow and back again, her expression incredulous. "You actually swung across a bottomless ravine on nothing but a rope made of rags?" Her voice was gradually increasing in pitch as she spoke.

"Why do you seem so surprised? We do crazy things all the time." Aerrow blinked, and before she could argue, he lifted a hand to silence her. "Besides, it's not like-"

"Hey, who's telling the story here?" Finn interrupted, and Aerrow shrugged. Clearing his throat, Finn continued his narration. "Now where was I..."

_-embedding itself in the rock face just above the metal. Finn watched with wide, awe-filled eyes as Aerrow took hold of the free end of the rope, and stepped up to the edge of the cliff, preparing to spring forth into the unknown-_

_"What do you think you are doing?!" A shrill, enraged voice rang out, and Aerrow winced. He looked over his shoulder, and saw Meryl in all her furious glory, holding Radarr by an ear as he struggled to get free. Upon seeing Aerrow, he gave up the struggle with an apologetic shrug. Aerrow sighed, and handed the rope off to Finn, giving Meryl his best mischievious smirk, he headed up the slope to meet with his doom._

"We snuck back later, with a real rope, and Aerrow shimmied across. That's how we found the Condor. As you guys know...it took a bit of effort to actually get it up and running after that." Due mostly to Stork and Junko's efforts, the ship was in the...somewhat working condition it was now. Sure, everything might not work all the time, but it was a good, solid ship.

"Once we had the Condor, Meryl couldn't really stop us, so she gave up. She kinda disowned us, though." Finn added with a shrug, Meryl had been none too happy about their choice in occupation that was for sure.

* * *

**A/N: It's a bit short, but it's an update, right? xD So, I decided I wanted to work in the pasts of the Storm Hawks we all know and love, too. It's a bit Aerrow-Finn-centric at the moment, but that's because this is their turn...there'll be more on the others later, promise!  
**

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End file.
